Betrayal
by Ghislaine Emrys
Summary: Heyes and Curry seize their chance for freedom, and spend an afternoon enjoying each other's company.


**BETRAYAL**

Wanting to relish every precious moment of liberty they could snatch, fearing they'd be caught before too long and hauled back to face the dreary grind of yet another week of chores and lessons in the benefits of a spiritual and repentant life, Hannibal Heyes and Jedediah Curry stealthily crept out the side door while the warden was occupied with another matter at the other end of the building.

Bounding across the field to freedom, they collapsed to the ground, laughing, once they were sure they hadn't been followed. After catching their breath, they swiftly made their way to the river that bordered the western edge of the institution.

"Sure feels good to be away from that place, don't it, Jed?"

"Sure does, Han."

The dark-haired boy looked at his blond friend, and they both started laughing again, glad to be outside, happy to be together.

"What do ya wanna do first, Han?"

The older boy squinted at the sun, trying to figure out how much time they had. He knew they'd have to sneak back before dinnertime, if they wanted to eat that evening—and when did the kid not want to eat?—but if they were lucky, maybe they had about three hours to do whatever they decided they wanted to do. It was real nice to have a choice. "I reckon we got a few hours. Let's go swimming first. Then we can dry off and no one'll know where we been."

"That's real smart, Han. I wouldn't have thought of that." Jed slipped his small hand into his friend's larger one as they walked to the river's edge.

Han looked at the younger boy and smiled. "Well, maybe not right away," he agreed. "But you're smart, Jed. You'd have figured it out eventually."

Jed was pleased by the praise. He didn't think it was true, but Han knew a lot of things and if he said so, well, then maybe it was. He'd have to think about that more sometime. But not now; now was for having fun, and thinking hard on things wasn't something Jed found to be fun. He squeezed the other boy's hand tighter, though, in silent thanks.

They reached the river in no time and stripped their clothes off quickly, leaving two piles on the ground. Jed plunged in, ducking his head under but he emerged right away, shaking water from the ringlets surrounding his face. "C'mon, Han, hurry up!"

Han, more cautious, had barely submerged a toe in the water when Jed's face reappeared. "Hold your horses, Jed," he grumbled. "I gotta make sure it's…"

Jed splashed water on his friend. "Come ON!" He cupped his hands and splashed the older boy again.

Scrambling to one side to avoid being sprayed even more with the cold water, Han stumbled and fell partially into the river. He glared at his friend, who burst out laughing. "It ain't funny, Jed!" he sputtered.

"Yeah, it is. You should see yourself." Jed grinned. "You're covered in mud. Now ya gotta get wet. Here, I'll help ya." He began to splash water in Han's direction.

"Sheesh, Jed, will ya stop!"

"What's the matter? I thought ya wanted to go swimming."

"Yeah, but in case ya hadn't noticed, I ain't doing that yet."

"Well, stop wasting time and jump in!"

Han sighed. Being the older of the two meant being the responsible one, but sometimes he just wanted to be a kid, too, and have fun. Like he used to... He cast off the momentary melancholy, not wanting to spoil the little time alone he had with his best friend.

Han got up and walked into the water near Jed, then submerged himself. He broke the surface and, after slicking his wet hair back out of his face, wiped the mud off his body. The grime was carried away by the current.

Now that he was used to the water temperature, Han devised a plan to get back at Jed. He swam away from him and then slipped under the water, only to swim back and grab Jed's legs and pull him off his feet. The younger boy, caught unawares, gulped mouthfuls of the river as he panicked and flapped his arms, trying unsuccessfully to escape. When Han ran out of breath himself, he pushed Jed to the surface, where he found his footing and clambered up the riverbank.

Jed lay, exhausted, on the ground, shivering in the cool afternoon breeze.

Han joined him, chuckling. "Done swimming so soon, Jed?"

Jed was shaking and the fear still in his eyes made it clear he wasn't amused. "That wasn't funny, Han. That was… that was…" Jed shrugged. He couldn't put into words the way he'd felt when he realized he was stuck under the water. He'd thought he was going to die and his chest was about to burst when suddenly the weight around his legs disappeared and he rose up into the air and could breathe again.

Han was immediately contrite. "I'm sorry, Jed. I wasn't thinking. You know I'd never hurt you, don't ya?"

Jed slowly nodded. It was true that Han looked after him. Han protected him from the older boys who tried to bully him, from the grown-ups who said he'd eaten enough when his stomach told him it was only half full. Han helped him with his schoolwork, even going so far as to do his sums for him at night when the matron wasn't looking.

"But it was mean, Han. You didn't give me no warning. I was scared I was gonna die."

"Oh, Jed, you know I didn't mean nothing by it. I was just getting back at ya for making me fall down in the mud."

Han went and sat next to his best friend. "C'mere," he ordered, opening his arms.

Jed scooted over and let himself be enveloped in the strong embrace of the dark-haired boy. He wrapped his arms around his best friend and they sat like that there for a while, until Jed stopped shivering.

"Better?" asked Han.

"Mm-hmm."

"Good."

"Han?" Jed asked, still enjoying the comfort of the older boy. "What's it like when a girl kisses you?"

"Huh?" Han's arms fell to his side in surprise at the question.

"What's it feel like when you kiss a girl?"

Annoyed by the question but not sure why, Han answered as best he could. "It feels nice."

"How many girls you kissed?"

"Plenty," he bragged.

"Uh huh." Jed looked at him skeptically. "Where'd ya find them all?"

Sheesh, the kid was relentless! "Oh, they're around, if ya know where to look," he stated with confidence.

"Who was the first girl ya ever kissed?"

Han wasn't about to admit anything. "What's with the interrogation, Jed?"

"The enter…the what?"

"Why ya asking me all these questions?"

Jed's face flushed and he stared at the ground.

Han grinned. "You got a lady friend hidden away somewhere, Jed?" he teased.

"No!"

"Aw, you can tell me. It's okay; I won't blab about it."

"I know ya won't. It ain't that."

"What then?" Han made a not-so-wild guess. "D'ya mean there's someone ya like but ya haven't told her yet?"

Jed nodded.

"Well, then," Han said cheerfully, disguising the hurt he felt at this betrayal of their friendship, "let's see what we can do to give you some authentic experience in the area of kissing."

The two friends spent the next couple of hours talking about girls and how to get them to notice a boy, and what to do once she did notice him, and how to get her to like him enough to go the next step.

Han was confident Jed was now well-equipped to deal with the fairer sex. His groin ached, just thinking about it.

Jed listened carefully to everything Han told him. After a while, it became easier to talk about things, even though he was still embarrassed and refused to tell Han the name of the girl he was interested in. He knew Han wouldn't approve, and Han's approval meant everything to Jed.

When the sky started to darken, by mutual agreement they rose from their place of respite, got dressed, and walked to the edge of the field where they could see, not too far away in yards but ages away in happiness, the building to which they knew they had to return.

Jed ran back first, zigzagging until he reached the wall of their dormitory. Making sure no one was waiting for them around the corner, he gestured for Han to join him.

Waiting a moment before he rejoined the blond boy, so vulnerable yet in many ways so strong, Han mentally reviewed their conversation and prayed to a God he didn't believe in anymore that nothing he'd said had betrayed how he really felt. All he wanted was for Jed to be happy again and if that meant he, Han, was unhappy, well, that was of no consequence as far as he was concerned.

Han ran to his friend and, arms slung over each other's shoulders for support, they solemnly walked inside, ready to face the coming week, together.


End file.
